The Atlanta Braves have an opportunity to break the 1-1 tie and take the lead in their NLDS series against the reigning MLB World Series Champions. Prior to taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Braves announced news about Ha-Seong Kim.
Game 3 features a pitching matchup for the ages. Chris Sale takes the mound for the Braves, fresh off a 3-2 win that evened the series. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the starter for the Dodgers.
Game 3 will start at 4:00 PM Mountain Time, 3:00 PM Pacific Time, or 6:00 PM Eastern Time.
Atlanta Braves Announce Ha-Seong Kim & Lane Thomas News Before NLDS Game 3 vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers
Before the first pitch of Game 3 in the NLDS between the Braves and Dodgers, the Braves announced news regarding Kim. This announcement is in regard to his placement in the lineup for the game.
Here is the lineup that the Braves announced prior to the game:
- C: Drake Baldwin
- RF: Ronald Acuna Jr.
- 1B: Matt Olson
- 2B: Ozzie Albies
- CF: Michael Harris II
- LF: Mauricio Dubon
- DH: Sean Murphy
- 3B: Austin Riley
- SS: Ha-Seong Kim
Starting Pitcher: Chris Sale
As you can see, the Braves are going with a near-identical lineup for Game 3. However, the biggest change is pulling Lane Thomas and inserting Kim.
After that, the only other change is moving Dubon from shortstop to LF (to cover the removed Thomas).
Kim is a 30-year-old infielder who played 51 regular-season games. Thomas is a 31-year-old outfielder who came over to the Braves in a trade with the Kansas City Royals at the trade deadline.
Reaction To Atlanta Braves Game 3 Lineup
MLB insider Mark Bowman tried to explain today’s lineup decisions.
“Rowdy isn’t in today’s lineup. This weekend, Walt said he likes to have Murphy at DH and Baldwin at C because it allows him to PH for Murph at the right point of a game,” Bowman wrote.
A curious fan brought up an argument, and Bowman responded.
“But why wouldn’t he stack as many LHH as possible in the starting lineup against a tough righty? Could have gone Dubon at SS, Yaz in LF, Tellez at DH…..” the fan wrote.
Bowman replied with some stats regarding Yamamoto: “Yamamoto vs. RHH .586 OPS vs. LHH .510 OPS.”
Looking At Ha-Seong Kim & Lane Thomas
Kim has yet to find success during this postseason run.
Despite playing three games and earning four at-bats, he has yet to record a hit. However, he has recorded a single run, thanks to one of his two walks.
During the regular season, Kim had more offensive success.
In his 51 games, Kim recorded 15 hits, one double, one triple, nine RBIs, 16 walks, and two stolen bases to go along with a .116 batting average.
Thomas, on the other hand, hasn’t experienced much more success than Kim. He has 73 hits, 19 doubles, 40 RBIs, 44 walks, nine stolen bases, and 11 home runs in 118 games.
Additionally, he has a .224 batting average.
It looks like this change could simply be to give Thomas a night off and make sure that Kim gets a game. Because if the Braves were trying to make sure everyone in the lineup could contribute offensively, this is a strange choice.
One way or another, the Braves need to get a win to turn the tides in their favor and take a lead in the series before Game 4.
Atlanta Braves Announce Strange Ha-Seong Kim News During NLDS vs Dodgers